Clocks go back: a good prompt to test your heating and alarms

When the clocks go back on the last Sunday of October, use the hour you gain as a twice-yearly prompt: test your carbon monoxide and smoke alarms, run the heating before you rely on it, bleed the radiators and check the boiler pressure. Five small jobs, and the first cold night holds no surprises.

What should I check when the clocks go back?

Everything on this list takes a few minutes, costs nothing, and catches the faults that otherwise announce themselves in December.

• Test every carbon monoxide alarm with its test button, and check the replace-by date printed on the casing.
• Test the smoke alarms while you're at it. Same button, same habit.
• Turn the heating on and let it run for a good hour. A boiler that has been off all summer is the one most likely to throw a fault, and late October is a far better time to find out than mid-December.
• Bleed any radiator that's cold at the top but warm at the bottom, so the system heats evenly.
• Check the boiler pressure gauge and top up if it has dropped below the normal range shown in the manual.

Should I test my CO alarms when the clocks change?

Yes, and it's the most important item on the list. The clocks-change weekend is already the traditional prompt for smoke alarm checks, and carbon monoxide alarms deserve exactly the same treatment, because winter is when appliances work hardest and windows stay shut. Press the test button on every alarm and listen for the full alert. Then look at the casing: alarms carry an end-of-life date, many last around seven to ten years, and past that date the whole unit needs replacing.

When should I test my heating before winter?

Before you need it, which in practice means October. Run the system properly for an hour, not a five-minute blast; let every radiator get hot, listen for banging or gurgling, and glance at the boiler pressure while it runs. A fault found now is a routine booking. The same fault in December means queueing behind every breakdown in town, because engineers' diaries fill fast once the first cold snap hits. If the boiler hasn't been serviced in the past year, book that at the same time, for the same reason.

How do I bleed a radiator before winter?

Do I need to change my heating timer when the clocks go back?

It depends what controls your heating. Most smart thermostats and internet-connected controls update themselves overnight. Older mechanical and basic digital timers usually don't, so until you adjust them the heating runs an hour out of step with your day. The clocks-change weekend is the natural moment to put it right, and to look over the schedule while you're in there, since the hours you set in spring rarely match what a household needs in November.

What about landlords and the clocks change?

The same prompt scales. Use the clocks-change weekend to confirm every property's alarms have been tested, ask tenants to run the heating and report anything odd, and check nothing gas-related falls due mid-winter. Booking anything due now, ahead of the autumn rush, is the difference between choosing your engineer and taking whoever has a slot left. Our free CP12 renewal checker will tell you where any property's certificate stands.